Littleproud lashes out at floundering Cattle Australia reform

He has urged the new Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to take control of the process to establish the new advocacy body.

Mr Littleproud, in his role as Agriculture Minister with the Coalition government, was instrumental in bringing together disparate producer organisations like Cattle Council of Australia and Cattle Producers Australia to nut out a new, more democratic peak body that was to be called Cattle Australia.

He oversaw the allocation of federal government seed funding and said that money was provided on the condition there was agreement between all.

The restructure steering committee set up to guide the process, which included a wide range of representatives from all parts of the grassfed game, now looks to have been disbanded amid accusations of unfair play.

Cattle Council is adamant it will forge ahead with setting up the new body.

However, representatives from CPA have approached the Department of Agriculture and Mr Watt asking for control of the affair to be taken away from Cattle Council.

Queensland producer Cameron McIntyre, from CPA, said even if democratic elections were held for directors of the new body, 'producers have been alienated, democracy and transparency has been taken out of the process and it will be nothing more than a new name for Cattle Council that has little wider support'.

Ironically, putting an end to the knocking on politician's doors by numerous cattle producer groups, instead of one peak body, was a key driver of efforts to set up a new single body.

Mr Littleproud said that 'fragmented voice' invariably leads to inaction from politicians on industry issues.

"It's extremely disappointing the trajectory of this has been disrupted so close to achieving something, considering all that has come before," Mr Littleproud said.

"We were on the cusp of seeing one of the biggest and most powerful agri bodies in the country formed and it will be such a wasted opportunity if all can't be kept in the tent at this point.

"The $800,000 we gave was conditional on all reaching agreement and there was initially a lot of goodwill among everyone involved for that to be achieved. It now appears segments are pulling away.

"The Ag Minister needs to draw on the authority of the office to prevent entrenched views taking over and derailing such important work right at the last minute."

Cattle Council representatives have repeatedly insisted there is a commitment to transitioning to Cattle Australia, which will see an entirely new governance structure enabling grassfed cattle producers to directly elect their own representatives, who will in turn lead the direction of national policy priorities and advocacy efforts.

President Lloyd Hick describes the process as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity, one that cannot be squandered."

The next step will require 75 per cent support from Cattle Council's founding members, the State Farming Organisations, for a special resolution to replace the existing Cattle Council constitution with a draft Cattle Australia one.

Cattle Council claims to have 'in-principle' support from the majority of SFOs for that.

However, organisations like CPA and the Australian Beef Association, say that is now meaningless because the draft constitution is not what was agreed upon by the restructuring committee.

Significant changes are still required, they argue.

They want the federal government to reinstate the restructure steering committee to make those changes.

While many a grassfed cattle producer has told Farmonline the whole affair amounts to the 'biggest mess ever' and they'd prefer to distance themselves from it, key industry leaders are urging perseverance.

Northern Territory Cattlemens' Association president David Connnolly said there must be a peak body for the grassfed industry, one with democratically elected members that is well-funded.

NTCA had engaged in the process in good faith because it firmly believed in that, he said.

The new Cattle Australia that will kick off later this year won't be perfect but 'a number of our organisations are not perfect,' Mr Connolly said.

"We will have the opportunity to refocus, to fix whatever isn't working as we go," he said.

"I would urge all producers to be a part of this business."

2010: More than 1200 producers met at a forum in Armidale, and another 500 near Rockhampton, calling for reform of grassfed cattle producer structures.

2013: Senate inquiry recommends, among other things, grassfed cattle producer levies be controlled and dispersed by a single producer-owned organisation.

Then Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce responds by asking Cattle Council and a number of competing representative bodies to get together to put a united reform package to the government.

2015: A reform model, called Cattle Australia, is developed.

2016 and 2017: A senate Inquiry into the effect of market consolidation on the red meat processing sector and an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission cattle and beef study support the need for reform in Australia's grassfed cattle producer representation to provide more transparency and accountability and a well-funded advocacy body.

A Cattle Australia Implementation Committee gets to work on the job.

2018: Cattle Council dramatically withdraws from that committee.

2020: Then Agriculture Minister David Littleproud funds a series of roundtable conferences to again see if a unified reform position can be reached.

Agreement on a new peak industry body structure was reached.

2021: An eight person restructure steering committee was formed. It had representatives from Cattle Council, SFOs, the Northern Pastoral Group and Cattle Producers Australia. It was to continue until a 'new peak body board is installed.'

Mr Littlerproud announced seed funding to help get Cattle Australia off the ground. A number of individual cattle producers also contributed to the establishment fund.

December 2021: Consultant Andrew Macauley was appointed independent chair of the restructure steering committee.

July 2022: Mr Macauley announces the restructure committee will 'finish its role' and the draft constitution for Cattle Australia will be handed back to Cattle Council to see through.

August 2022: Disenchanted members of the restructure committee call an emergency meeting at the Royal Queensland Show saying the reform process had been hijacked.